Tension-plate.



PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

S. W. WARDWELL.

TENSION PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED APR 28, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C INVENTUB WW. M d? 4%. ATTORNEYS WITNESSES Q y 4:

No, 792,093. I PATENTED JUNE 13, 1905.

' S. W. WARDWELL.

TENSION PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED APR-2B, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES INVENTOB Z I By W? ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES Patented June 13, 1905.

PATENT OEEIcE.

SIMON WV. WVARDWELL, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE COMMONWEALTH TRUST COMPANY, TRUSTEE, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

TENSION-PLATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 792,093, dated June 13, 1905.

Application filed April 28, 1902. Serial No. 105,108.

To all whom, it may concern:

' Be it known that I, SIMON W. WARDWELL, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tension-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to tension-plates for use in devices for applying tension to thread,

IO yarn, cord, &c.

The object of my improvement is to provide means to sinuate the path of travel of the thread in passing between opposite plates pressing thereon to apply a sensitive and delicate re- 5 sistance to the delivery of the thread.

The following is a complete and adequate description of my invention, illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the movable tension-plate looking toward its inner face; Fig. 2, a like view of the fixed tensionplate looking toward its outer face; Fig. 3, a plan view of both plates assembled in operative relation. Fig. 4 is a face view of a dif- 5 ferent form of plate; Fig. 5, a plan view of two of such plates operatively mounted; Fig. 6, a view looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 5; Fig. 7 a view showing the manner in which the tension device is mounted in 3 its bracket on winding-machine.

My invention comprises, essentially, movable cooperating tension-plates formed with alternating portions whereby a moving thread or threads may be sinuated, the said plates being yieldingly pressed together to sinuate the yarn and to automatically yield to vary the degree of the said sinuation, and the said plates being so formed as to permit the ready insertion of the thread or yarn without ma- 4 nipulation by the operator or mechanical connections with the machine to which the said plates are attached.

I describe the plates of my device as being yieldingly pressed together in contradistinction to the fingered members of those tension devices which are so formed that the fingers of the movable one of said members must be first passed through and by the fingers of the cooperating fixed member for the insertion of the thread and then drawn back upon the 5 O fingers of said fixed member to sinuate and tension the thread.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, Which illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, the two members a and b are substantially fiat plates formed with ears 0 c, bent at right angles thereto. The ears are provided with holes cl (Z, adapted to receive a rod held in bearings in a suitable supporting-frame, Fig. 7 By this means the movable member a is pivotally secured at its upper and lower ends and the fixed member held opposite thereto. The fixed member 6 is held rigid by means of a screw passing through the ear 0 and entering the supporting-frame in which 5 the tensions are mounted. Attached to the upper ear of the member a or formed integral therewith is an extension in the form of an arm f, through which is applied the pressure to swing the movable member toward the fixed 7 member.

Adjacent its outer edge each of the members is formed like a grid with bars 9 by cutting away the intervening body of the tension-plate, which bars are so formed and so spaced relative to the supporting-ears c c that when the members are mounted, as indicated in Fig. 3, the bars of one member alternate with those of the other and may pass by each other to an extent limited only by the contacting of the plates. In other words, the bars of one member interaline with those of the other when in operative position. The outer portions of the members are curved back from the inner faces, forming a troughshaped guideway'to receive the thread, with a flaring entrance to facilitate the threading. Intermediate the ends of the bars are formed abrupt bends or ofl'sets, which serve to prevent the thread being drawn too far in between said bars. To retain the thread from being thrown out by its tendency to whip or balloon as it delivers from the supply, a retainer is provided at the bottom of the movable member a. I prefer to make this in the form of a member h, attached to or integral gig with the outer curved portion of the plate and extending in a \I-shaped finger below and closely adjacent the lower bar of member a. The innermost portion of the finger extends transversely of the bars of both members and overlaps sufficiently to form a protecting-bar in front of the threadchannel. The finger it is close to the lower bar of member a to prevent the thread being caught between them, and the outer portion being inclined to the inner bar acts as a wedge to open the tensions and admit the thread.

The operation of the device is as follows: The thread is drawn between the members (0 and b, acting on the wedge of finger it to open them sufiicientl y to let the thread pass behind the retaining-bar of said finger. Suitable guides provided above and below the members support the thread in position in its channel, and pressure is applied to the arm f to force the movable member yieldingly toward the fixed member. The thread passing over the grid-bars follows a sinuous path and is thereby tensioncd. By varying the amount of pressure applied to the arm f the pressure of the bars r on the thread is made greater or less, and the degree of sinuosity of the path of the thread is thereby varied. The amount of resistance to the delivery of the thread depends on the amplitude of its deflections, and this being varied by the pressure of the plates varies the degree to which the yarn is tensioned. The bars 1 of the plates are of substantially rectangular form, having square corners which serve to clean the yarn of motes or other clinging particles. The edges of the bars are, however, smooth enough not to abrade or injure the yarn.

In Figs. 4, 5, and 6 the tension members illustrated are solid plates, with the bars 0 formed by corrugating the plate, which bars act in the same manner as the bars of the members above described. Supporting-ears are provided at the upper and lower extremities of the plates, an ear on the fixed member for securing it to the tension-frame and an arm on the movable member for applying pressure to force it toward the fixed member. The outer edges of the tension-plates are turned out away from the faces which are adjacent in operative position to form the guideway for the entrance of the thread between the plates. The plates are slightly bowed out midway of their width, so that when the plates are in position a lenticular opening intervenes between them. After the thread has been introduced between the plates pressure on the movable member carries its corrugations or flutes between those of the fixed plate to sinuate the path of the yarn. Since the portions of the flutes adjacent the edges of the plates project to the greatest extent, they overlap the opposite portions of the fixed plate farther than the central portions of the flutes. In other words, the inner and outer portions of the flutes overlap each other to the greatest extent and tend to retain the yarn in a path traversing the cen tral portion of the flutes.

It will be evident that other forms of plates may be used to embody the spirit of my invention without departing from the principle herein described and illustrated. Therefore I do not limit myself to the exact form of device herein illustrated; but

IV hat I do claim is- 1. A tension device comprising two gridformed members with alternating bars, and curved portions to receive the thread and guide it to a position between the bars, one of said members fixed and the other member hinged to swing toward the fixed member.

2. A tension-plate comprising in one piece a portion having parallel bars, two cars turned at right angles to said barred portion having holes to receive a rod, a guide portion turned back from the face of, and a shoulder in the said barred portion, formed by an abrupt bend or offset, to retain the thread while traversing the bars of the plate.

3. The combination in a tension device with a fixed plate and a movable plate, both plates having portions with a plurality of parallel bars, curved guiding portions, and shoulders formed on the bars to limit the path of the thread thereon, of a bearing for the movable plate to support it adjacent to the fixed plate.

4.. The combination in a tension-plate having supporting-ears bent at right angles to the said plate, of an ear on the plate for securing it fixedly to its frame,bars formed transversely of said plate, and a shoulder to locate the yarn in positionlongitudinally thereof, formed by offsetting the bars from the plane of the plate, substantially as described.

5. A tension-plate comprising a portion having parallel bars, means for supporting said plate to swing, an arm on said plate for swinging it and an offset or shoulder formed in the bars for positioning the thread thereon, substantially as described.

6. In a tension device comprising two plates, one fixed and the other movable to and from the fixed plate and having means whereby to be swung toward the fixed plate, portions of both plates having parallel bars, and bars of one plate alternating with those of the other, means for mounting said plates so that the bars of the two members may interaline, and shoulders formed in the bars adjacent to the line of interalinement, the portion of the bars extending outward from the shoulders being curved back to form a guideway leading to the trough formed by said shoulders.

7. The combination with a tension-plate, of a finger having a portion projecting substantially perpendicular to the face of the plate, to retain the thread thereon, and a second portion inclined to the face of the plate to guide the thread over the finger to its operative position.

8. The combination with a tensionplate having a thread-channel, of a finger projecting at substantially right angles to the face of the plate in front of said channel with a portion inclined therefrom to the edge of the plate, substantially as described.

9. The combination in a tension device with a fixed plate and a movable plate, each having portions that cooperate with similar portions of the other to tension the thread as it passes between them, of a finger on one of the plates for guiding the thread to and maintaining it in a position between the plates, substantially as described.

10. Atension device comprising two plates, one fixed and the other movable toward the fixed plate, each having portions that cooperate with similar portions of the other to tension the thread as it passes between them, and a finger extendingperpendicular to the plates across their lower edges, having a portion for retaining the yarn between the plates and a portion inclined thereto for the thread to act on to open the plates.

11. The combination in a tension device with a fixed and a movable plate, each having a portion with parallel bars and a curved guide portion, of a finger adjacent the lower bar of the fixed plate, extending substantially perpendicular to the face of the plate and having an inclined portion to guide the thread to its position between the plates.

12. The combination in a tension device with a fixed and a movable plate, portions of said plates having alternating bars, and ears on said plates having holes adapted to receive a rod to support the plates in such relation that the bars of one plate converge toward and pass the bars of the other at a point near their centers, and so bent as to form a channel for the thread adjacent the passing portions, of a finger on the movable plate in contact with the lower bar of the said plate and a portion of the finger inclining toward the outer edge of the movable plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SIMON W. \VARDWELL.

Witnesses:

JOSHUA B. HALE, EDWIN 0. SMITH. 

